Javascript is currently not enabled on this browser.Please enable Javascript for proper viewing of The Kathmandu Post website. Don't know how to enable javascript? Click here to see suggestions from google

Tanzania ferry disaster toll rises again

The death toll after a ferry capsized in Lake Victoria has risen to more than 170, a local deputy said Saturday, as rescue workers also managed to pull another survivor from the vessel. Earlier Saturday, state-run TV station TBC had put the toll at 151, but Joseph Mkundi, member of parliament for the Ukerewe district, told AFP that over 170 people were now known to have died. But even as hopes were fading of rescuing any more survivors on the third day of search efforts, workers found alive an engineer who had managed to locate a pocket of air in the vessel. According to Mkundi, the engineer shut himself into a “special room” with enough air to allow him to stay alive after the MV Nyerere capsized close to the pier on Ukara Island on Thursday. This takes the number of people known to have survived to 41. The reported figures combined mean that the ferry, which was built for 100 passengers according to state media, was carrying well over twice that number of people.

About Us

Established in February 1993, the Kathmandu Post, Nepal’s first privately owned English broadsheet daily, is today Nepal’s leading English language newspaper, with a daily circulation of 82,000 copies. This makes the Post Nepal’s second-most widely circulated newspaper—after Kantipur daily. The Kathmandu Post is also a member of Asia News Network that has over 15 members and is known for its insightful, unbiased journalistic work of the highest calibre. Read more»